Nexus in Government Recruitment Examination Scams

Nexus in Government Recruitment Examination Scams

As you are aware hat the Police in Pune and Panaji has busted a recruitment scam and arrested some persons in this regard on 25th Feb. 2017 in which the recruitment paper of the Army Recruitment Examination was leaked. This is not the first time that the issue of paper leak of any recruitment examination has come in the news. In fact this kind of news have become regular news items in the news papers. There are almost all the major recruitment examination papers are leaked in UP and Bihar. Earlier, small time fraudsters were involved but now days big politicians, officers are involved in these activities and it has become a big mafia kind of nexus and business. The detainees in Pune Army Recruitment Scams include a retired army officer, a senior paramilitary officer, and the director of a private academy for services job aspirants.

Police in Pune, Nagpur and Panaji detained 21 suspects for leaking the question papers of an army recruitment exam. The recruitment was being conducted for the posts of soldiers ­ general duty , clerk and tradesmen. The detainees include a retired army officer, a senior paramilitary officer, and the director of a private academy for services job aspirants. Early investigations have revealed signs of an organised racket that obtained the leaked question papers and distributed them to the beneficiaries. Agents even ferried candidates to a pre-designated location where the leaked papers were revealed to them.The army recruitment exam scam also comes on the heels of a new turn in the investigations into the Madhya Pradesh Professional Exam Board or Vyapam scam. A CBI probe has found at least 96 instances where candidates had lied that middlemen who hired proxies to appear for the tests were dead. This again shows a high degree of coordination and a sophisticated modus operandi to shield the kingpins of the Vyapam scam. Such an operation can only be carried out with the blessings of powerful individuals with considerable connections. But investigators have mostly netted middlemen and agents, with the big fish still at large.Both scams point to a middlemen-official nexus in professional examinations. It's clear that present security measures to prevent fraud and cheating in these exams simply aren't sufficient. For these recruitment tests to regain their credibility, it's imperative that a complete review of the examination processes is carried out and new checks and balances are put in place. But a beginning can only be made after the masterminds of these scams are caught and indicted.Second, the scams also highlight the immense competition for seats in educational institutions and jobs in government. This in turn underscores the scarcity of education and job opportunities in an aspirational society such as ours which unscrupulous officials and middlemen are taking advantage of. Hence, in addition to tightening processes, there is an urgent need to create more educational institutions and grow more private sector jobs. Government can't be the primary source of stable and lucrative employment.If it is, then scope for distortions and scams in vital institutions such as the army increases. Thus, broad-spectrum reforms in both government processes and policies are the only solution. Please be careful and do not indulge in any unlawful activity and save your self from the scams.